If some Software Developers built houses
An interesting HCI analogy ...
"David John Burrowes, one of the Interaction designers here at Sun, sent out a pointer to a piece in the UI Hall of Shame blog by Duncan Margetts, entitled If some Software Developers built houses?. It's worth sharing with y'all. Be sure to read all the comments. You see that what is considered a good design in one situation, doesn't always work in others.
I've been writing graphical software for 23 years and working with HCI (Human Computer Interaction) people (or whatever they are calling themselves this week) for about 15 years. I've worked with good ones and I've worked with, um, not so good ones. When they are good, it's a pleasure to work with them. Each person (the developer and the HCI designer) takes a passionate interest in trying to get it right. Great teamwork. Also when working on some software within the confines of a larger project (such as the DeskSet software within OpenWindows or desktop applications for the GNOME desktop), there are usually a set of HCI guidelines that help developers and UI designers do the right consistent thing.
But what about the same application across different larger projects? I wrote the calculator application ( calctool) in OpenWindows. The same code was the basis of the calculator in CDE (although I didn't write that), and now the same code has been the basis of the default calculator for the GNOME desktop. Each time, a different UI designer has been involved and each time, the look and feel has been different. Still, no matter how you look at it, they are all better then what I came up with, circa 1987. I don't know what I was smoking then, but ooh the colors man! (Looks like HP might still be making this version available)." continued ... (Via Rich Burridge's Weblog)
"David John Burrowes, one of the Interaction designers here at Sun, sent out a pointer to a piece in the UI Hall of Shame blog by Duncan Margetts, entitled If some Software Developers built houses?. It's worth sharing with y'all. Be sure to read all the comments. You see that what is considered a good design in one situation, doesn't always work in others.
I've been writing graphical software for 23 years and working with HCI (Human Computer Interaction) people (or whatever they are calling themselves this week) for about 15 years. I've worked with good ones and I've worked with, um, not so good ones. When they are good, it's a pleasure to work with them. Each person (the developer and the HCI designer) takes a passionate interest in trying to get it right. Great teamwork. Also when working on some software within the confines of a larger project (such as the DeskSet software within OpenWindows or desktop applications for the GNOME desktop), there are usually a set of HCI guidelines that help developers and UI designers do the right consistent thing.
But what about the same application across different larger projects? I wrote the calculator application ( calctool) in OpenWindows. The same code was the basis of the calculator in CDE (although I didn't write that), and now the same code has been the basis of the default calculator for the GNOME desktop. Each time, a different UI designer has been involved and each time, the look and feel has been different. Still, no matter how you look at it, they are all better then what I came up with, circa 1987. I don't know what I was smoking then, but ooh the colors man! (Looks like HP might still be making this version available)." continued ... (Via Rich Burridge's Weblog)
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